Experimentation
by morningglassofOJ
Summary: Oliver and Percy are just trying to see where they stand with their broken friendship, and fix it if they can. But there are a few things they need to work through first. It would be just lovely if Fred and George would butt out, though.


Percy Wesley sat on his bed, nose buried in his arithmancy text. His brow furrowed a bit as he approached the correct answer on a problem, then relaxed as he confirmed that he had, in fact, gotten it right. He did this on every single problem, and had been doing it for approximately thirty-two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Oliver knew this because he had been watching him the entire time.

It had started with Oliver laying in his own bed across their shared room, tossing a quaffle in the air and catching it. Then he'd noticed how Percy would occasionally clear his throat, or run his fingers through his hair. It had started as he watched the studious boy surreptitiously out of the corner of his vision. Then, gradually, it had progressed to blatant staring as Percy went through his subconscious routine. There was the deep breath as he read the problem, the clearing of his throat as he wrote down his procedure, and fingers through the curly, red hair as he prepared to execute. His brow would furrow and his glasses would systematically slip down his nose as he worked until finally, work done, he would pinch the bridge of his nose and compare his professor's notes to his own work and his face would relax as he found every answer to be correct.

Twelve times he had done this, and he had Oliver transfixed, the quaffle laying next to him, forgotten. He practically copied the long inhale as Percy started another problem, but the breath was suddenly squeezed from his windpipes when Percy quipped, "Wood, why are you staring at me?"

Far too much of a Gryffindor to back down from such an accusatory tone, Oliver chuckled and retorted, "Because you're just so gorgeous, Darling. Like a quidditch pitch on a bright spring day."

Percy's brow furrowed, completely out of order. He was well and fully distracted now; He could never focus with Wood's intense stare pricking the hairs on the back of his neck. He could tell the captain was semi-deep in thought, so he figured he'd better address it or else he'd never complete his school work.

"What is it, Wood?" he asked in a slightly less reproachful tone. Wood smiled and sat up, glad to have caught his roommate's attention. Without hesitation, he broached the subject on his mind. "You ever been kissed, Perce?"

To his credit, Percy wasn't as flustered as he would have been had any other person asked. Four years of rooming with Wood had granted him that much, at least. All the same, he hesitated before answering, "No."

Olivier snorted. "You expect me to believe that? With the looong pause and slightly-less-than-furtive glances? No, that won't cut it, Perce. Fess up!"

Percy brought himself to sit up straight. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and anyway, I was merely considering whether my mother counted or not." Oliver responded with a condescending look and a slightly scolding "Percy," but the redhead was not perturbed. He pointedly looked back at his homework, attempting to salvage some of his previous focus and tune out his noisy roommate.

Oliver reclined back on his bed and sighed, "Emerson Banks." Percy looked up questioningly. oliver elaborated, "She was my first. I was ten, at my muggle neighbor's birthday party. They had this game, 'twirl the bottle' or something. she was fourteen, his older sister. The bottle landed on me and so she kissed me." He sighed again.

Realizing he couldn't distract Wood from his goal, he decided to join in the conversation. "Was it any good?" he asked.

Oliver rolled over to look Percy directly in his bespectacled eyes. "Complete rubbish. Too spitty and gooey and I swear she hadn't brushed her teeth in weeks. Far too much tongue for my taste as well." Percy returned his stare for a moment before they both broke into raucous laughter.

"That's bloody awful!" Percy exclaimed after he had somewhat caught his breath, wiping a tear from his eye.

"So," Oliver gasped between breaths, "What about you?"

Immediately, Percy sobered. "I already told you, no one." Oliver again pierced him with his stare.

"C'mon, Perce, you're a shit liar. Just tell me."

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about!" Percy kept his eyes resolutely fixed on his paper.

For a while it was quiet in the room, Percy doing his work and Oliver milling about in his own wistful daydreams. Percy managed to complete two more problems before Oliver cut off his concentration yet again.

"it was Madame Rosmerta, wasn't it?"

The quill fell out of Percy's hand. "Excuse me, what?" He exclaimed, gaping at Oliver briefly before dropping his face to his now empty hands and gently massaging his aching temples.

"Well, I just assumed, I mean, there are rumors that she gets around," here he paused to make a lewd gesture with his hips, "and offers up young souls the opportunity to obtain their first kiss from a seasoned veteran." Percy raised his head and gave Oliver an inquisitive look.

"Ollie, have you made any grave potions errors recently, or is Zonko's selling hallucinogens now and you've just neglected to inform me of it?"

Again, the two erupted into peels of laughter, renewed whenever they would catch each other's eye. By the time they calmed down, they were both splayed out on their backs, clutching their now aching stomachs. For a while, they lay there, silently enjoying the camaraderie and finally regaining their breath. Then Oliver spoke again.

"Hey, Perce?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, Ollie?" came the equally hesitant reply.

'Why don't we talk anymore?" Oliver sat up to look at his friend, who was still staring at the ceiling.

"Oliver-" Percy sighed

"No, hear me out. Remember first and second year? How we were nearly inseparable? Well around third year, I don't know what, but something changed. Maybe it was our schedules, but we never talked as much, and now we're nearly silent, even when we're in the same room! What happened?"

Percy merely shrugged. "but, "Oliver pressed, "You have an answer for everything! Don't you at least have an idea?" he finished desperately.

His roommate was silent, not even a shake of the head acknowledged his question. Irritated, Oliver flopped back onto his bed to mourn the gradual loss of his friend.

A minute passed, then another. Then Percy spoke up. "Andrew Caldrum." he stated. Oliver turned his head so he could kind of see Percy without having to sit up again. "Who?"

"He's a Ravenclaw, we had double transfiguration with him second year. brownish hair, kind of tall. he was the first to change his animal into a water goblet, remember?"

"So?" Oliver was feeling petulant now, and wasn't particularly disposed towards Percy changing the subject.

"Well," Percy hesitated, "I just thought I'd try and answer both your questions at once..." his voice was barely a whisper in the silent room.

"Wha-" Oliver started, fumbling for words as he was cut off by Percy.

"I started realizing in third year-how you were starting to talk about girls and so were the other boys, but I didn't really like the sound of that so much... Then I heard about a couple of boys making out in a back hallway, and the more I thought about it the more sense it made to me. I thought you'd hate me, so I kind of...tried to drift away. I didn't think you'd really notice that much."

Oliver gulped. This had not at all been what he was expecting. "And Andrew?" he prompted.

Percy chuckled. "We had prefect duties together at the starts of this year. He had 'deduced' that we felt the same way about men, and 'proposed an experiment.' He pulled me into a broom cupboard and we...kissed."

Oliver nodded, though he knew Percy couldn't see. "Are you seriously telling me that's why we stopped hanging out so much? You thought I'd hate you because you'd rather have it up the arse?" he exclaimed after a brief pause, causing Percy to audibly gasp.

"Well...yes?" he muttered, pulling his pillow up to cover his face. Oliver began to laugh-he couldn't stop himself.

Percy sat up, chucking the pillow at Oliver's head. "It's not funny! It was a legitimate concern! Stop laughing!" But, even as he said it, he found himself laughing as well.

The two lay there, relishing the feeling of a long abandoned friendship blossoming again. "So," Oliver said, ever the one to break the comfortable silence, "What's it like kissing a boy?" he didn't need to look to know Percy was gaping at him yet again. "I mean, obviously it's good for you, it obviously confirmed your suspicions, seeing as you just came out to me. But, what's it like? What's different?"

Percy didn't answer for a while, but this time at least Oliver knew he would. "Well, I mean, I suppose it's really not different except you know you're interested in the person on the other side of it. It's good if you have the right person. it was alright, but we've pointedly not had prefect duties together since."

Now Oliver was the silent one. "Would you show me?" he asked after a time. Again, he could physically feel Percy gaping at him.

"Wha-I mean, why-no...now? Right now?" Percy stuttered. Oliver shrugged, sitting up to look at him. "Just curious I suppose." he smirked, and Percy gulped.

"I mean, I guess...I could...if you really want..." Oliver walked over to Percy's bed since he knew Percy wouldn't come to him. He sat gingerly next to Percy on the bed, and the two leaned in toward each other, lips pursed obscenely and eyes screwed shut. They only got a centimeter apart before Percy's eyes shot open. "Okay, no, this is weird!" he practically shouted.

Oliver heaved a sigh of relief and hopped off the bed to begin pacing, "Right, too weird." and the two immediately started rationalizing as one.

"I'm sorry, Ol, I can't. this is-"

"No, I forced it, it was awkward-"

"I mean, don't get me wrong, you are a fine specimen-"

"I'm not even gay! Why did I do that?-"

"It's natural to be curious, but-"

"I wasn't even really curious, I don't know what-"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not my type-"

"We should forget this ever-"

"Definitely. this was a-"

"Bad idea." They both said at once, red all the way to the tips of their ears. Oliver turned away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Percy began hurriedly fiddling with his notes. Oliver as always, was the first to speak.

'So, uhm...fancy a round of Gobstones?" Percy hopped up a little too eagerly, ""Yes, I could go for a game." The two walked out of the room at a calculated distance from each other and down to the common room.

At the same moment the dormitory door closed, Fred and George Weasley rolled out from under Percy and Oliver's beds respectively.

"What do you say, George?"

'A marvelous experiment , if I do say myself, Fred."

They got up, dusting themselves off from their afternoon of skulking. "who knew old Perce not only had a stick up his arse, but that he wanted it there too!" Fred exclaimed.

"I must say, Fred, I never expected Oliver though." George chuckled.

"Ah, yes. they always did say that curiosity killed the cat. Too bad it was only mandrake and horseapple pollen and not the real deal."

"A crying shame." They both sighed.

"Should we tell 'em, Freddie?" George snorted.

Fred threw back his head in laughter. "Nah, let's let 'em be. They don't need to know the particulars."

"Well, either way, I believe Weasley Wizard Wheezes is off to a good start!"

"Couldn't agree more, Georgie."


End file.
